


To Charm a Snake

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hermione Granger Bashing, Hogwarts Fourth Year, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, House Resorting, M/M, Ron Weasley Bashing, Slytherin Harry Potter, The war still exists, because screw that tbh, but it’s not a plot point, but only at first, cuz why the hell not, probably, without the triwizard tournament
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-05-20 04:31:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19369771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Inter-house unity is at its lowest point in years. When Dumbledore is convinced that something as silly as school houses are getting far too out of control, he announces that every student from every year will be resorted.When Harry is sorted into Slytherin, his friends don’t take it well. But can they get over it for the sake of inter-house unity and more importantly, their friendship?And is this the opportunity a certain blond snake has been waiting for?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lovelies!
> 
> If you can think of a better name for this fic please tell me in the comments because I really don’t like mine. I just threw in the first thing I thought of cuz I couldn’t think of anything better.
> 
> I’ll be really happy if you leave a comment even if it’s to tell me you hate it. I just love reading comments so please don’t hesitate to leave one.
> 
> Thank you my lovely people! <3<3

Harry made his way into the great hall, going with the flow of people. Ron and Hermione were at his side, like they always were and always would be, and he was heading back home after an exhausting summer. He couldn’t help but feel happy and content.

They made their way to the Gryffindor table, where they took their usual place among their housemates. The hall was filled with chatter, friends catching up after a long summer apart. 

“Alright let’s get this show on the road, I’m starving,” Ron clapped his hands together and stared at the empty plates, breaking the magic of the moment for Harry.

He grinned at his friends antics as the three of them sat down next to each other. Harry opened his mouth to reply, but closed in surprise when Dumbledore stood with his hands raised for silence. Apparently Ron was getting his wish because this was way sooner than they normally started the ceremonies.

“I know what you’re thinking. We’re starting the sorting much too early. But I have an explanation for this. The past few years have shown us nothing but an utter lack of inter-house unity. While we are made up of four houses, we are still one school. This is why we will not be participating in the triwizard tournament this year,” Dumbledore said solemnly.

Gasps and murmuring rang out from around the room. They hadn’t even known that they could have participated in the first place, let alone that it would be taken away from them.

“This is no inconvenience to the other two participating schools as they have decided to invite a student from America to participate, in order to keep the number the designated three. But this brings us back around to the matter of inter-house unity. The rest of the staff and I believe that this is a serious issue,” Professor Snape was making a face as if he believed anything but, but Dumbledore continued on without a hitch, “Which is why we have decided on a school wide resorting.”

Now cries of utter outrage could be heard amongst the students. Of course nobody wanted to be uprooted from their friends and placed into a whole new house. Harry’s eyes scanned the crowd until they automatically landed on a certain smug blond head. He was the only one Harry could see who remained confident and unbothered. Annoyingly confident. He must just be that sure of his place in Slytherin.

If only Harry could say the same for himself about Gryffindor. He had never felt like he fit perfectly into any one house, so his fate couldn’t be sure.

He’d only realized he was still staring at Malfoy when he heard Ron’s voice cutting through his consciousness, “Stop staring at the snakes, mate. We’re gonna be fine.”

“You think so?” Harry asked, turning to address both him and Hermione.

“I know so. We’re the most Gryffindor of the lot,” Ron replied with a grin, still giving the empty plates impatient glances.

“Especially you, Harry,” Hermione said warmly and reassuringly.

He smiled at them gratefully, their confidence starting to rub off on him.

Dumbledore waited a moment to give the students time to react before raising his hands for silence once more, “I know leaving your friends might worry you, but think of it as a learning experience. It’s entirely possible, maybe even probable, that most of you will remain in your original houses. But it’s those who leave who will make all the difference. Let the sorting begin!”

Harry and Ron gave each other a look as the first years began one by one finding out their houses. They hadn’t fully realized until this moment exactly how many sortings they would be sitting through.

Almost an hour had passed and they had finally worked their way up to the fourth years. Most people Harry knew were staying in their original houses. Harry almost wished someone would controversially switch houses, just so he could watch something entertaining.

When Malfoy has his turn, he managed to continue looking graceful and self-important even sitting on a stool with a tattered hat being placed on his head. It was almost unfair. To nobody’s surprise the hat had barely needed to touch his head before announcing him Slytherin. With a small smirk, he stood up and returned to his original place. 

The same happened for most other Slytherins, but it was a surprise that after more than a few minutes of deliberation, Pansy Parkinson was announced Gryffindor. She seemed as surprised as everyone else, but she held her head high and silently took a seat opposite Hermione.

Shrugging, Harry turned his attention back to the front only to hear his own name being called. As he stood and walked to the stool, suddenly all of his confidence dissipated and he could feel every eye on him. He took a breath to collect himself and drew himself up proudly. If everyone was going to look at him they might as well see him at his best. 

He sat down on the stool, straightening up as the hat was placed on his head. He kept his face carefully blank so those watching would have no idea what sort of conversation was going on.

“Hmm, you’re a tough one,” the hat began slowly, “you’re brave but your heart doesn’t truly belong in Gryffindor. You’re proud, you’re calculating, you’re ambitious. I’d say Slytherin, but you seem to object to that.”

“All my friends are in Gryffindor,” Harry thought back at the hat.

“And is that the only reason you don’t want to leave?” The hat asked.

“Well no. I also just would prefer not to be in Slytherin,” he admitted. The hat remained silent for a moment, seemingly thinking.

“I rather think that since Professor Dumbledores purpose was inter-house unity, not switching houses because of a prejudice seems to defeat the purpose,” the hat said carefully.

Harry shrugged. The hat was right about that, but it didn’t mean he wanted to leave his friends behind for Slytherin of all houses.

“SLYTHERIN,” the hat called out, as if Harry’s last thought had been the one to make up its mind.

Harry’s heart dropped as the great hall fell so silent he could have heard a pin drop. He felt the hat being lifted off his head and took that as his cue to stand up. His eyes went straight back to the Gryffindor table to gauge the reactions of his friends. Most just looked surprised but Ron seemed to be openly fuming whilst Hermione looked sad but unsurprised. His gaze then drifted over to the Slytherin table where it fixated on Malfoy instantly. Malfoy looked utterly shocked and dumbfounded. He also looked almost hopeful.

After a moment, the Slytherin table burst into riotous applause, stomping their feet, clapping and cheering. Harry knew they were cheering more the fact that THE Harry Potter has gone from Gryffindor to being one of them than they were cheering for him. Malfoy, who Harry’s eyes were still on, was clapping half heartedly in a sort of daze. Harry let a small smile, almost a smirk, slip onto his face before making his way to the table and sitting in the first available seat, next to Zabini and across from Malfoy.

The rest of the students were all either booing their displeasure or remaining silent on the issue, still in shock, but none of them were clapping. Harry kept his head held high and didn’t let it get to him, turning his attention instead to Dumbledore who was desperately trying to silence the crowd. When the noise finally died down enough, he simply moved on to the next person calmly.

Harry started to zone out as the rest of the names started to blur together. He vaguely noted that Ron and Hermione had stayed in Gryffindor before he stopped paying attention again. Zabini nudged him, noticing his lack of attention.

“Welcome to Slytherin,” he said, looking at Harry almost gleefully. Harry nodded cautiously unable to tell if he was being serious or not and Zabini smirked before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

As the sorting drew on he found his gaze turned to Malfoy again. He seemed to have gotten over the shock and his face was now the picture of arrogance as he met Harry’s gaze.

Damn smug Slytherins.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful lovelies!
> 
> Please feel free to comment even if it’s criticisms, even especially if it’s criticisms, I’m always looking to improve and I love reading comments!
> 
> Did any of y’all American lovelies catch the Democratic debates? I need someone to nerd out over politics with!
> 
> I’m sorry if there are any glaring errors or if it’s just utter garbage but I don’t have a beta and I’m a horrible editor, so my apologies.
> 
> Enjoy!

Harry drifted in and out of paying attention to the sorting as the hat went on to sort the later years. As far as he was concerned, all the damage that could be done had been done and any other house changes besides his couldn’t matter to him as much anymore. Maybe that was a self centered way of thinking about it, but Harry needed to get his own situation figured out before he could focus much on other people’s situations. 

Finally, Dumbledore had finished with the sorting and made his speech. As Harry came fully back to himself enough to really notice his surroundings, he saw that the plates had filled up with food.

Normally right about now he’d be watching with amusement as Ron filled his plate to the brim and ate swiftly without manners whilst Hermione ate more politely and looked on in disapproval.

As it stood, he was sitting surrounded by Slytherins, none of which had gone for the food yet. Now that he looked around, he realized that those around him were simply staring at him, most likely waiting for him to say something.

“Uh, hello,” he said awkwardly, hoping to dispel some of the tension but rather feeling he was heading towards the opposite.

To his utter surprise, it actually seemed to work. Many of them had simply rolled their eyes and looked away again, fully convinced of his idiocy. Unfortunately this hadn’t worked on the ones nearest him, mainly and Zabini and Malfoy. There was another beat of awkward silence in which nobody responded to his greeting.

“What are you doing here?” Malfoy asked suddenly, sounded less hostile and more moderately bemused with a hint of I’m better than you.

Harry shrugged, “I was sorted here.” He didn’t know how else to answer that question.

“You don’t say,” Malfoy snorted and finally started grabbing some food to put on his plate. Seeming to take this as a cue, Harry and Zabini both copied his motions.

Malfoy and Zabini glanced at each other before both turning back to him.

“Why were you sorted here?” Zabini asked calmly. When Harry has just started to shrug again, he added, “What did the hat say?”

“Oh, uh,” Harry was suddenly reluctant to share what the hat had said. It hadn’t even been anything too bad, but when it had told him he didn’t truly belong in Gryffindor hadn’t been fun, “Well, uh, I don’t think it was as much of a surprise as everyone seems to find it.”

“You don’t?” Malfoy snapped, looking up incredulously.

Harry shrugged almost defensively, “I mean it told me I’d do well in Slytherin first year.”

Zabini and Malfoy both stayed silent, shocked into having nothing to say. Harry shrugged again and just started eating, realizing how much of the feast had gone by with them just talking.

“So you’re a Slytherin now,” Zabini said carefully. Malfoy was staring at his plate now and after a second started determinedly eating, as if to distance himself from the conversation.

Drawing his eyes away from Malfoy and back to Zabini, Harry carefully nodded.

“So you’ll need allies,” Zabini stayed, looking Harry in the eye. For the life of him, Harry couldn’t figure out what was going on in his head based on his blank expression.

“I suppose I will,” Harry agreed, deciding to just go along with it. Zabini smirked.

“I don’t know about Draco, but I’ve nothing to hold against you. You can consider me an ally,” Zabini started, holding out a hand for Harry to shake. This seemed almost dangerous to him, Zabini’s face remained utterly blank. Harry couldn’t tell what his intentions were or see any ounce of emotion except for an off glint in his eye.

Narrowing his eyes, he took Zabini’s hand and shook it firmly. If his intentions were dangerous, wouldn’t it be more dangerous to refuse him? 

Zabini smirked again and took his hand back. “Good choice,” he said, before deliberately beginning to eat.

He heard Malfoy sigh dramatically and looked over to see him looking huffily at his plate. He looked up when he felt Harry’s eyes on him, glaring slightly.

He didn’t know if Malfoy was mad that he’d talked to Zabini because he didn’t think they should be talking to Harry at all or if he was mad that he’d only talked to Zabini or if he was just overall mad that Harry was here. He had no way of knowing exactly why he was upset, but his mind was made up in a split second when their eyes met.

He extended his hand towards Malfoy in what was clearly an offer for a handshake. He kept eye contact knowing full well he’d have to live with the embarrassment if Malfoy turned him down.

Zabini put down his fork and stared openly, sensing something was happening.

Malfoy stared at Harry’s hand for so long, he started internally panicking, assuming rejection. But he watched the range of emotions flicker subtly across Malfoy's face, from distrust to hope and finally sticking on determination.

He reached out and clasped Harry’s hand firmly and Harry felt his mouth lift into a sort of grinning smirk, watched Malfoy's do the same.

They kept their hands clasped, maintaining eye contact and seemingly communicating through facial expressions for at least double the length of his handshake with Zabini.

Zabini had gone back to eating but still seemed amazed this was actually happening.

Suddenly Malfoy’s eyes landed on something over Harry’s shoulder and he let go immediately of Harry’s hand.

“Trouble,” he stated simply, not acknowledging their apparent lack of enemy status but apparently adapting easily to it.

Harry looked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at and saw Ron gaping over from the Gryffindor table. Harry could only assume he’d seen the whole thing or at least the handshake with Malfoy because he looked utterly shocked. He was going slowly but surely red as the shock turned into anger and betrayal and he turned and began furiously narrating what he’d seen to the Gryffindors around him.

Ron had looked horribly upset when Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, so he could only imagine what he felt like seeing Harry actually getting along with them.

At the same time, Harry didn’t know how Ron expected him to switch houses and then just totally isolate himself from those around him.

Harry turned back around to face the Slytherin table again to see Malfoy looking a mixture of amused and concerned about Rons behavior, but definitely leaning more towards amused. Zabini looked just as aloof as ever.

“He’ll get over it,” Harry said by way of addressing the situation.

“I’m sure he will,” Zabini said, lips quirking up into a half smile. 

For the rest of the feast, Malfoy and Zabini talked quietly amongst themselves, seemingly done for the day with Harry’s company. So far as Harry could tell, allies just meant allies. It wasn’t code for friends or even acquaintances. It just meant he had allies. They didn’t seem inclined to talk to him much, so that’s what he was inclined to believe.

When the feast was over, he was only acknowledged when Malfoy called over his shoulder, “Follow us,” evidently to show him where the dorms were.

So he was following Zabini and Malfoy like a lost puppy when Ron, Hermione, And a small crowd of Gryffindors caught up to him. 

He was made aware of their presence when he heard Hermione's voice call his name almost timidly.

He turned around along with Malfoy and Zabini. Because of the positions they were walking in, Malfoy walked up behind him on his right and Zabini on his left, probably giving the impression that the three of them were closer than they actually were. That probably wouldn’t help to calm Ron down any, but Harry wasn’t about to turn down what support he had at this point.

Ron and Hermione were standing near each other at the front of the small crowd.

“I know it’s not your fault you got sorted there, but I think you can start to take some of the blame around the same time you start befriending snakes,” Ron spat, crossing his arms and overall looking stubborn.

Harry didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t expected Ron to come up to them acting so hostile. He’d hoped Ron would be willing to listen and to give him a chance.

“So if I make the best of a situation I didn’t ask for, you’re immediately hostile about it without trying to understand at all? That’s a good friend right there,” Harry replies, keeping an air of nonchalance he didn’t feel at all.

“What more is there to understand? You’ve betrayed us!” Ron was fuming while the crowd of Gryffindors behind him muttered discontentedly amongst themselves.

“I don’t know how talking to Slytherins, which by the way is my house now, is a betrayal,” he said calmly, hoping his calmness would rub off on Ron and maybe he’d just stop. No such luck.

“Who knew you’d fit in so well with the snakes,” he said coolly, before turning on his heel and stalking off. The rest of the people in the vicinity muttered amongst themselves for another few seconds before turning to follow him, Hermione in the lead.

Zabini stared after Ron as he left, face as blank as always, before turning back to face Harry and Malfoy. They all started walking again, but this time they all fell into step together.

Malfoy seemed just as upset by the encounter as Harry was and ranted about it almost the whole way to the Slytherin dorms. Apparently something about that encounter had made him decide that he’d stop ignoring Harry and start being angry on his behalf.

Harry saw Malfoy in a whole new light when he was on his side. The arrogance seemed more of a defense mechanism and the semi aggressive talk seemed more protective. It was strange to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have an amazing day/night all you beautiful lovely people!
> 
> Ps ignore the fact that the end notes from chapter 1 are on this chapter as well, I don’t know why that is and I don’t know how to change it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. Please keep in mind that this is not betaed and all mistakes are my own.

Harry wondered if being Slytherin would change the way Snape treated him. Somehow he doubted it, but now was the time to find out. He was waiting for the Gryffindors to arrive with the other Slytherins, so potions could start. He was sat partnered with Malfoy, Zabini at the table next to theirs.

Harry looked up when he heard the door open, watching Gryffindors start filing into the room. Ron glared at him as he entered, Hermione purposefully looking the other way. Harry felt his face start resembling something akin to a pained expression against his will until he felt Malfoy’s elbow in his ribs. He turned to Malfoy in surprise.

“What was that for?” He asked, giving him a halfhearted glare.

Snape made his way to the front of the room before Malfoy could respond. Harry didn’t expect a response since there was no way Malfoy would talk over Snape, but he held eye contact, raising his eyebrows. Malfoy rolled his eyes before turning to face forward. 

Harry copied him, staring forward blankly, letting Snape’s voice flow in one ear and out the other. Something was being written on the chalkboard, but it wasn’t close enough to any exams for him to motivate himself to take notes. If it came down to it, he could always copy Hermi- Or maybe Malfoy’s?

His gaze started drifting towards the Gryffindors, flitting past Pansy who was sitting near the front looking uncomfortable and towards Ron and Hermione. They were looking forward towards Snape, Hermione taking avid notes.

Suddenly he saw Malfoy’s hand sliding a piece of paper across the table. He turned his head back to his own side of the room and subtly picked up the note. It just read “Pay attention!!!”

Harry rolled his eyes, crumbling the note in his hands. Malfoy smirked at him and Harry tossed the ball of paper lightly into his lap, smiling a little back at him.

Getting the feeling someone was staring at him, he turned again to see Ron glaring at him. Malfoy poked him in the arm and he turned his back to Ron’s glares instantly, determined to actually try and pay attention.

He took out a piece of paper and a quill, belatedly copying down what was on the board. Snape was apparently taking mercy today, as the notes were left up plenty long enough for Harry to copy them before they were erased. 

He took note of Malfoy’s self satisfied expression and Zabini’s amused one at this action, but didn’t mention either.

The rest of the lesson went by relatively quickly, the time seeming to pass faster when Harry applied his mind to it than when he didn’t.

At the end of the lesson, Snape didn’t treat him the way he normally did, picking at straws to find something he was doing wrong. He also didn’t treat him like one of his Slytherin favorites. He simply treated him like he would treat anyone else. Which is to say, he ignored him. And Harry quite honestly couldn’t find fault in that.

Harry stood up, flanked by Zabini and Malfoy. He immediately noticed Ron making his way directly across the room, straight towards him. Hermione was hanging back looking uncomfortable and Pansy was trailing equally as uncomfortably behind Ron. Harry noticed Malfoy practically bristling with anger while Zabini stood blank faced and impassive as ever.

“Potter!” Ron spat angrily upon his arrival. Ouch. So they were no longer on first name terms. Harry kept his expression blank, having learned that Malfoy would probably elbow him if he didn’t and he didn’t fancy that bony elbow in his ribs again.

“Weasley,” Harry responded, tone much less venomous than Ron’s, but carrying a warning nonetheless. Ron’s face darkened more as if hearing that was all he’d needed to entirely make up his mind.

“I never thought you’d be so easy to corrupt,” Ron- no, Weasley- spat.

“I never thought you were such a disloyal git, but here we are,” Harry said in as nonchalant a tone as he could muster. Beside him, Malfoy looked like he didn’t know whether to be pleased or concerned at what Harry was saying.

“Disloyal?” Ron echoed incredulously, “I am loyal to my fellow Gryffindors!”

“Well,” Harry said coolly, “if I’d known you were this narrow minded I might not have befriended you in the first place.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty,” Ron said shakily, voice rising in volume as he spoke, lifting his wand out of his robes to point at Harry’s face, “as if I’M the one undeserving of YOUR friendship!”

Now Snape approached, less content to sit back and watch the exchange now that wands were involved. 

“50 points from Gryffindor. And put that thing away, Weasley,” he gave Ron a cold look until he tucked his wand away huffily. Snape glanced over at Harry, Malfoy, and Zabini, face blank of expression. He then turned on his heel and left the room. 

Now that there was nothing left to see, the room was beginning to clear of its excess students. Ron stormed out, not waiting for anyone.

“Well, that was dramatic,” Zabini commented, turning towards the other two after the action had ceased. 

Harry glanced up at the exit to see Pansy and Hermione exiting. Together, he might add. They must have stuck together during the confrontation.

“I’ll say,” he heard Malfoy agree before turning to face Harry head on.

“Hey, Potter, are you alright?” Malfoy asked in a nonchalant tone betraying no real emotion. Still, it was surreal to hear Malfoy ask him a question that was caring in nature.

“Yeah, fine,” Harry responded vaguely.

“We’d better get back to the common room then,” Malfoy added, Zabini nodding along.

“Right,” Harry agreed dazedly. Malfoy and Zabini exchanged a look and Harry was practically dragged out of the room by the pair. Malfoy reached around to pat him on the back while they were walking.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll forget all about this in no time,” Malfoy said, in what was meant to be a comforting tone. Harry just shook his head.

It was hard to be comforted by the fact that he’d have to get used to being enemies with his best friend. But he supposed one could get used to anything after enough time to adjust.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry glanced up the incoming owls momentarily before reaching forward to grab a few treacle tarts for breakfast. He saw Malfoy staring up at the owls intently, but didn’t bother watching them himself, knowing the odds were against him receiving any mail.

Harry turned towards Malfoy, ready to start a conversation, when a big tawny school owl landed gracefully on the table between them. He wasn’t exactly surprised, Malfoy often received sweets and letters from his mother, so he looked up expectantly, waiting for Malfoy to grab the letter. But when Malfoy reached for it the owl dodged, scooting closer to Harry. Malfoy took his hand away and shrugged bemusedly. Looking at the owl closer, Harry saw that it was a school owl. Most likely this was the first of the hate mail over his house switch.

Harry frowned and complicity took the letter from the owl, absentmindedly giving it a piece of bacon before allowing it to fly away.

Harry unfolded the piece of parchment and examined the letter:

Harry,

Meet me at the owlery at 11:00 pm. Ron won’t be there, but we need to talk.

Hermione.

Harry frowned at the note, immediately suspicious. What if Ron was in on this, or worse, what if this was a setup for another confrontation?

“What? What is it?” Malfoy insistently tried to lean around Harry to read the note, unwilling to be left out of something. Harry knew how annoying he could get if he didn’t get his way, so he simply held the note up for Malfoy to read. He figured if they were going to be friends, lying and keeping secrets wasn’t a good way to start that relationship out.

“Here, read it yourself,” Malfoy snatched the note out of Harry’s hand and scanned it quickly.

“That seems suspicious,” Malfoy said after he had finished and returned the parchment.

“That’s what I thought, but I can’t just ignore it. This could be a chance to keep my old friends,” Harry argued. He knew Malfoy wouldn’t want him to do this, but he couldn’t pass it up.

“What do you need them for anyway?” Malfoy practically whined, pushing some food around his plate. 

“I’ve spent the last three years with them, it would just be nice,” Harry explained patiently. Malfoy just shrugged.

“So you’re definitely going? I can’t persuade you otherwise?” He sounded less hopeful and more resigned.

“I’m going,” Harry agreed decisively.

“Okay, then I’m going with you,” Malfoy said in a very final tone.

“There’s no need-“ Harry began, but was cut off.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a need, I’m coming with you. I’ll be your backup. IF you need it,” Malfoy said, almost pleading, and Harry gave in.

“Fine, you can come. But I don’t expect I’ll need backup against Hermione,” Harry said, getting back to eating his treacle tarts. Malfoy’s expression formed a self satisfied smirk, clearly pleased at having got his way so easily.

“You never know,” he commented. Harry shrugged supposing that was technically true.

Blaise entered the Great Hall a moment later, having taken longer than usual to get ready for the day. He sat down next to Malfoy and immediately reached for the eggs with a polite, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Harry replied easily, slipping the parchment into his pocket upon Blaise’s arrival. Malfoy caught the movement and raised his eyebrows questioningly, clearly wondering what that meant about whether or not Zabini was in on the contents of the note. Harry shook his head subtly and Malfoy smirked a little, clearly glad that he was in on a secret. Harry couldn’t help but smile back a little.

“What are you two grinning at each other for?” Zabini said, more irritably than usual. Harry looked at him more closely for the first time that morning and saw that he didn’t seem to have gotten much sleep.

“We are not!” Malfoy exclaimed, seemingly very offended by this accusation. Harry just looked between the two of them, mildly amused by this interaction.

Zabini just rolled his eyes and started delicately eating his food.

Harry felt the note in his pocket, smiling a little to himself. He felt hopeful that he might not lose his friendship with Hermione, hopeful that perhaps she and Malfoy would get along, hopeful that his two worlds might peacefully meet. Harry actually thought that maybe something would go right for once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was sitting on his bed, going over his notes from potions the previous day, or at least trying to. Despite the fact that he’d written the notes himself, he didn’t seem to have any recollection of what they actually meant. He’d planned to look over them before heading to the owlery, but now he was thinking he’d need a lot longer than he’d originally planned. And probably a tutor.

“Up! Up! Come on, time to go!” Malfoy suddenly whisper yelled, springing up from the bed alongside Harry’s.

“I’m not finished with this,” Harry said, waving the parchment at Malfoy, annoyed at its existence.

“What is that, your potions notes? I’ll explain them to you later. Now come on, if we want to be up there by eleven we’ll have to leave now,” Malfoy said insistently.

“Fine, fine, you’re right,” Harry agreed, although he rolled his eyes as he got up, a habit he was pretty sure he’d picked up from Malfoy.

“Of course I am,” Malfoy scoffed. And with that, they left, sparing a moment for Harry to pull out his invisibility cloak and for Malfoy to be amazed by it and slightly jealous of it.

The owlery was empty when they arrived, which only served to heighten Harry’s suspicion. He felt Malfoy try to tug off the cloak and he held it firmly in place, turning to mutter an explanation in his ear.

“Let’s leave it on until we can make sure Hermione’s alone,” he suggested. Malfoy nodded, and so it was settled. They huddled together under the cloak for a few minutes until they could hear footsteps and voices from outside the door. Harry couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he was positive Hermione wasn’t the only one there. Harry and Malfoy looked at each other tensely, getting ready to either slip out the door or wait the people out if need be. 

The door slowly creaked open. Hermione peered around the door first and Harry felt a pang of sadness at what he had lost in her as a friend. Once she was fully in the room, someone else pushed the door open all the way. The first thing hardy noticed was the female frame, so it definitely wasn’t Ron.

“He might not have come,” the girl said looking around the room. Upon hearing her voice, he recognized her as Pansy Parkinson, Malfoy’s friend who had transferred to Gryffindor. He turned to comment on this to Malfoy, but before he could react, Malfoy had thrown the cloak off of both of them. Harry was left to pick it up off the ground as Malfoy ran at Parkinson and tackled her into a hug.

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione said, catching sight of him standing there awkwardly watching Malfoy and Parkinson hug. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and after a heartbeat of disbelief, Harry returned it.

“I haven’t seen you in so long,” Harry murmured, which wasn’t strictly true. They’d seen her in the halls but he hadn’t exactly been able to stop and catch up with Ron around.

“Alright, now that the touchy feely is over,” Parkinson announced, pulling back from Malfoy. Hermione let go of him agreeably and he took a small step back, “we need to get talking.”

Harry nodded, remembering the note and realizing they probably had something important to say. Hermione cleared her throat a little and spoke up.

“We- Pansy and I- have decided that we’re not going to let Ron ruin our friendships. He has a prejudice that he can’t or won’t get over, but we don’t have that same problem and we don’t want to lose you two over it,” she looked nervous, like she thought she was about to be shot down. But this was what Harry had been upset about ever since the resorting. This could be a chance to solve that problem.

“Of course, I agree completely,” Harry said enthusiastically. He noticed Malfoy side eying him and dialed back on the enthusiasm. Clearly Malfoy was still skeptical, so he didn’t want to drag him into something he still felt uncomfortable with.

Hermione looked relieved at his easy acceptance. Had she thought he wouldn’t want to keep his friends in Gryffindor?

“How do you plan on getting the weasel to change his mind then? Or are you planning on ditching him? I’m for the latter really, but do tell,” Malfoy sounded sarcastic when he asked, but Harry looked at Hermione, wanting to know the answer. She just looked anxious to have been asked that question. After a beat of silence made it clear Hermione wasn’t going to say anything Harry turned on her.

“You can’t try to be friends and hide it from Ron,” Harry said incredulously.

“It’ll upset him, and you know, he’s my friend too,” Hermione said defensively.

“So you’re gonna lie to him?” Harry questioned. This didn’t seem like something Hermione would do. On the other hand, he could understand not wanting to lose her friends.

“I’m not gonna.. I just,” Hermione trailed off, looking at him pleadingly. Harry took pity and shook his head.

“Okay, I get it,” Harry said, putting his hand on her shoulder empathetically.

“What? You get it? No you do- No he doesn’t!” Malfoy brushed Harry’s hand off her shoulder indignantly.

No one responded, looking at Malfoy in surprise. He spluttered, pulling himself together in order to explain himself.

“This, what you’re doing, it’s like going along with what Weasley’s doing!” Malfoy said, angrily. He turned frantically and met Harry’s eyes, “You’re okay with this, how they’re treating you?”

“No, I’m not, but Hermione can’t fix it,” Harry said gently.

“Bullshit she can’t fix it, she just needs to TELL WEASLEY that she’s YOUR FRIEND!” Malfoy’s voice started to raise. Parkinson reached for him soothingly, but he brushed her off and stormed out the door. Parkinson’s hand dropped and she stood gaping at the spot where he used to stand.

“I’m just gonna..” she gestured wordlessly at the door.

“Yeah,” Hermione nodded and Parkinson rushed out the door. As soon as the door closed behind her, Hermione turned and Harry an indecipherable look.

“What?” He said, at this point impatient to find Malfoy and get back to the dorms.

“Harry, you’ve liked Malfoy for a long time, I know you have, but-“

“What do you mean? No I haven’t,” Harry cut her off defensively.

“Look I didn’t mean- I just.. you’ve been pretty obsessed with him in the past and.. you know I really don’t think we should talk about this, I’m not here to argue,” Hermione explained quickly.

“Obsessed?” Harry parroted, slack-jawed. He didn’t know how to respond to that except for with a resounding no.

“I just wanted to say I want you to be careful, okay? That’s it,” Hermione said worriedly.

“Careful,” Harry repeated once again. 

“Yes, and.. and that’s it,” Hermione looked at Harry for one more second before turning and walking out the door.

Harry shrugged to himself, left alone in the owlery. It occurred to him that after all that talking and drama, they’d never come to an agreement about what they’d do about Ron. He wondered if they ever would or if they ever even should. Maybe if the majority of Gryffindors didn’t think Slytherins could be worthy friends and those who did weren’t willing to go against the grain, he shouldn’t put so much effort into staying friends with them. He thought about how Zabini and Malfoy had been accepting right off the bat and how quickly Ron had turned on him. He was beginning to question who his real friends were. And the answer he was coming to wasn’t something he had totally prepared himself for.

A little sad, but mostly relieved to have fully confronted his feelings on the matter, he turned to Hedwig, scratching her on the head and pulling the treats he’d brought for her out of his pocket.

After a moment he heard the door creak open slowly, though he kept his back turned.

“Potter?” Malfoy called tentatively from the entrance.

“Call me Harry if you want to,” Harry offered, petting Hedwig one last time and turning around.

“Harry,” Malfoy amended, stepping closer.

“Where’s Parkinson?” Harry asked.

“In her dorm. Speaking of, we should get back to ours,” Malfoy reached down and picked the cloak up from in front of Harry’s feet, dangling it in front of them. Harry nodded and took the cloak.

“We should never have come in the first place,” Harry said sadly, stepping into Malfoy’s space and throwing the cloak over the both of them.

“What do you mean?” Malfoy looked down at him, concerned.

“I suppose I just didn’t realize Gryffindors were that shallow or self serving until I saw it from the outside. I almost went along with it until I had a chance to think about it,” Harry leaned into Malfoy a little and Malfoy compliantly put an arm around him.

“Well, you live and you learn,” Malfoy joked, “but seriously, we’re friends now. You don’t have to worry about that from me. Or Blaise.”

“Thanks, Draco,” Harry said, trying out his first name. Malfoy- no, Draco- smiled at the sentiment.

“Of course, Harry. But seriously, we’d better go now,” he warned, taking his arm back and getting ready to walk. Harry was embarrassed to admit that he missed the feeling, but he straightened himself up.

“Right,” He said, opening the door as quietly as possible. He looked at Draco for confirmation, who smiled at him, and then they set out together for the Slytherin dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you lovelies enjoyed! Please leave a comment whether you loved it or hated it I’d love to know!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW my lovelies. It really has been a hot second since I’ve posted. I have a tendency to lose motivation on things for very long amounts of time and then work very intensely on them for a while before losing motivation again. I swear that I won’t let this go unfinished, I will eventually complete it it’s just sometimes I need breaks. Thank you all for being patient with me!

Harry looked on in abject horror from where he stood near the front of the group of Slytherins he stood with. They were in Double Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors and he was watching, Draco equally if not more horrified beside him, as Hagrid stood before the group, relating to the students all he knew about Blast Ended Skrewts. Which, as it turned out, was not very much. Evidently, he didn’t even know how to tell males from females or locate the mouths of the things, let alone how to properly care for them or keep students safe from their dangerous qualities.

As if to add explosive icing to this already dangerous cake, Hagrid was going to have his students try and figure out what these things are for themselves by trying to stuff random foods into any and all orifices because oh right, Hagrid still didn’t know where the mouths were. Harry was beginning to envy Blaise’s decision to drop the class.

Now Hagrid was assigning one Skrewt to every few people, directing them towards the varieties of plants, meats, and insects he had laid out as potential food. Harry exchanged an apprehensive look with Draco as Hagrid neared them with a pale, vicious looking creature held in his gloved hand. Which led him to think. Why didn’t any of the students have gloves? Couldn’t these things supposedly burn you quite badly?

Trying to shake the thought away, Harry refocused when Hagrid placed the creature on the ground in front of him and Draco with the instruction not to let it run away, as this was a particularly flighty one. 

“Is he TRYING to get us killed?” Draco whispered furiously in his ear. Harry just shrugged incredulously, still almost in disbelief of the situation. He looked up at Hagrid, who looked fondly back at him, patting him affectionately on the shoulder before moving on to the next group. The gesture might have meant more to Harry if it hadn’t come with a dangerous creature he was supposed to interact with despite the fact that it would probably try to kill him.

Making eye contact with Draco once again, they silently agreed that neither of them were willing to touch it and become horribly injured just to try and stuff some lettuce down the things throat, if it even had one. 

“Let’s just watch the Gryffindors try and deal with theirs,” Harry suggested. They were much more likely to be willing to mess with the creatures than any Slytherin would, and who knew, maybe one would stumble on the solution.

“To hell with the bloody thing if it runs off,” Draco agreed, giving their Skrewt a disgusted and slightly fearful look. 

Harry nodded, tearing his eyes reluctantly off of it, also not very willing to turn his back to it, to look at the Gryffindors. Most of them were reluctant to go near the creatures as well, but there were a good portion who were idiotically reaching down towards them, kicking them lightly, or just holding a piece of lettuce or an insect towards them and just hoping not to be brutally attacked.

After a minute, Harry glanced back down at the Skrewt just to make sure it was still there. It was. It was lying there docile in the grass. A flighty one indeed. 

Eventually he and Draco just started to drop things on it, from grass to frog liver, not really expecting it to eat any of it but just trying to look busy so Hagrid would give them a good glasswork grade.

Every so often, Harry would feel Ron’s- correction, Weasley’s glare on him and Draco. He knew him well enough to see that this class period was doing nothing but fuel his anger, watching him and Draco interact. Well, Harry didn’t know what to tell him. Having made up his mind about Weasley, and even the Gryffindor state of mind in general, Harry wasn’t letting it get to him. 

And perhaps Harry’s indifference towards his anger was a part of the problem. Perhaps that was what built up to the conflict that occurred later at lunch. Though not actually started by Weasley, the severity of the conflict may have been largely because of how much time Weasley’s anger simmered and was nurtured. All possibilities aside, Harry supposed that there was no doubt that from then on, these hostile encounters were what he had to be used to. And he was finding that as time passed he became less and less upset about it.

As he and Draco entered the Great Hall, Harry automatically began scanning for Blaise so they could sit by him if he was already there. But Draco had other ideas, giving Harry a conspiratorial smile before pulling out what was apparently a newspaper. Harry got one look at the headline and knew what it was about and what Draco was going to do with it, but he could bring himself to be angry on Weasley’s behalf or even to try and prevent the fight Draco was about to pick. 

All Draco was going to do was offend someone who was already constantly offended by Harry’s life choices, so realistically he wasn’t making any difference really. And nothing against Mr. Weasley in particular, but now that Harry was beginning to see the humor in Weasley’s consistent explosive anger, he might even get some entertainment out of it. 

So Harry smiled back at Draco, essentially giving him his blessing and permission. Draco didn’t do anything so obvious as a fist pump, but the triumph was immediately visible in his eyes, making Harry smile again. 

So once they were within earshot of Weasley, Draco dramatically unfolded the paper and began reading aloud to Harry in a theatrical tone. The article listed Mr. Weasley’s previous encounters with the law involving his flying car and went on to list his incompetence in dealing with Mad Eye Moody that summer. All in all, it wasn’t a very flattering depiction of the man.

Harry glanced from the paper upon hearing a clatter from the direction of the Gryffindor table. Weasley had jumped to his feet without regard for the silverware he was knocking off the table. 

“What are you reading about my father?” Ron demanded in a voice shaking with anger. Hermione beside him looked rather afraid and unsure.

“We’re simply perusing an article regarding his incompetence as a wizard, that’s all,” Harry surprised himself with how easy he found it to antagonize rather than soothe, to not disregard the past three years of friendship, but rather to remember and use the weaknesses he had discovered during them, “Must be genetic,” he added as an afterthought.

But perhaps he should have considered that every opportunity he’d had to learn Weasley’s insecurities, Weasley had had the same for him. And some of his own insecurities and weak spots ran a bit deeper than Weasley’s did.

“Do you think your mother would be proud to see you like this. Or your father?” Weasley said, a cruel smile forming on his face, “No! They’d be disgusted. Disgusted! To see you fraternizing with a future death eater. Your parents died to prevent this. And apparently they died in vain. They wouldn’t want this for you! They died in vain and it’s all your fault!”

Harry was so overcome with rage and pain and an irrational sense of betrayal that he was hardly aware of his surroundings anymore. Through his rage he managed to take notice of Hermione’s hands clasped over her mouth, her looking shocked and verging on tears. For reasons Harry wasn’t quite sure of, this only served to make him angrier. Vaguely, he realized that Draco had his wand out and pointed at Weasley’s face, almost as angry as Harry was. And vaguely he was aware that Weasley just kept smiling, thinking he’d won, that he’d gotten the best of an evil Slytherin and that that was something to be proud of. As if HIS mother would have been proud of him for that one.

When Harry was finally able to talk himself down, reminding himself that Weasley’s opinion shouldn’t matter to him, he nudged Draco lightly, trying to diffuse the situation. The last thing he needed was for some professor to give them a detention after all this. 

“He’s not worth it,” he said convincingly, when Draco only glanced at him. After a second of hesitation Draco lowered his wand.

“But he said-“

“I know what he said and I appreciate that you’re trying to help. But we’ll only give him the satisfaction of us getting a detention,” Harry said reasonably. Finally Draco tucked away his wand, shaking his head irritably.

“Fine, but we’re leaving before I change my mind,” Draco agreed reluctantly before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving Harry to catch up behind him.

Harry had just caught up when he heard a high pitched scream trailing off into the panicked squeaking of an animal. He and Draco whipped around in alarm. His jaw dropped as he caught the tail end of Weasley’s transformation. Moody had his wand pointed at the spot where Weasley used to be, the spot that now contained an honest to god weasel. An honest to god weasel that was currently being bounced up and down by an oddly gleeful Professor Moody.

“He had a wand pointed at your backs.” Moody explained, seeing the shock on Harry and Draco’s faces. Harry could do nothing but nod and let out a shocked sort of laugh. Draco was doing the same beside him.

Seeing McGonagall hurriedly approaching, Harry grabbed Draco’s arm and pulled him away from the situation and towards the Slytherin table. They both dropped down in seats near Blaise, both laughing now, in sheer disbelief and amazement. Blaise, having witnessed most of the events from afar, just shook his head in disapproval and vague amusement. 

When the laughter eventually ran out, Harry looked over at Draco, beginning to appreciate him all over again. He couldn’t believe the loyalty that had sprung up between them in such a short amount of time and marveled in how different it was from the immediate hatred that had sprung up between Weasley and himself for such an inconsequential reason on such short notice. Noticing Harry staring, Draco looked questioningly over at him.

“What?” Draco asked faux casually, “Have I got something on my face?”

“No, it’s just that I..” Harry trailed off, wondering how to finish that sentence or whether he even should. Noticing a very slight blush on Draco’s cheeks, almost unnoticeable, Harry decided just to change the subject.

“It’s just that we have a free period next and I wondered if you wanted to play quidditch, with try outs coming up and all?” Harry offered awkwardly. Draco blinked silently, looking thrown off, so Blaise took it upon himself to answer for him. 

“Yes, Draco and I would love to practice with you,” Blaise said confidently. Harry blinked, having almost forgotten about Blaise, before looking back at Draco.

“Right, well that’s settled then.”

That’s how Harry found himself arguing about quidditch with Draco as they made their way onto the pitch along with Blaise with their brooms and equipment. Somehow, it had managed to slip his mind until just then that there could only be one seeker. And that he and Draco both happened to play as seekers.

“I couldn’t take your place, you’re already the Slytherin seeker!” Harry insisted.

“But you’ve always beat me when we’ve played against each other, we could use you in that position,” Draco practically whined. 

“By sheer luck! I have much less experience than y-“

“For the love of Salazar, will you two stop bickering,” Blaise interrupted, rolling his eyes at the ensuing silence, “How about you two have a seekers game today and that’s how you can decide,” he suggested, annoyed.

Draco and Harry looked at each other and shrugged, and just like that, it was decided. 

Once they arrived at the pitch, Blaise volunteered to ref for them and set about unlocking the case containing the different quidditch balls. Carefully, he unlatched the snitch and lifted it into the air. Harry and Draco mounted their brooms, rising slightly into the air with eyes fixed on the snitch.

“Best of three,” Blaise announced, tossing the snitch up into the air. It took off like a rocket, and just like that, they were off. 

Harry let his adrenaline take over heading straight for the snitch while he could still see it, Draco doing the same. Very quickly, it did a few loops around them and zoomed off out of sight. Harry and Draco glanced at each other in slight annoyance before taking off into the sky for better vantage points. 

Harry scanned the sky, looking for any sign of a glint of gold. Not having any luck, he glanced around for Draco, to check if he’d seen it. Evidently he had. Harry turning around just in time to see Draco take off like a shot, trailing close behind the frantically flying snitch. Immediately, Harry flew up behind him, slowly closing the distance between them until they were neck in neck. As the two of them began closing the distance between them and the snitch, Harry began reaching forward around Draco. Draco tried to swat Harry’s hand away from him, but this caused him to lose some speed and concentration, enough for Harry to gain on him by just enough to reach out and grab the snitch. 

Triumphantly, he snatched it, flying down and presenting it smugly to Blaise, who took it with a hint of amusement. Draco trailed more slowly behind him, huffing with annoyance.

Harry was still smirking at Draco when Blaise released the snitch for the second time, putting him at a solid five second disadvantage. 

This time Draco was right on the snitch’s tail, all the balls best maneuvers not being enough to shake him. Harry flew up behind him, trying hard to gain ground. Draco was completely ignoring him, arm stretched out, a mere inch from the snitch. Harry bumped him lightly with his shoulder, not trying to push him off but merely to shake his concentration. It didn’t work. Draco’s broom barely wavered and a second later his hand was closing around the snitch. 

Draco flew a victorious loop de loop before touching down and happily handing the snitch over to Blaise, who was still simply standing serenely and looking mildly amused. 

Harry touched down a second later, frowning initially but eventually unable to stop himself from smiling at Draco a little.

“Last round,” Blaise announced, releasing the snitch for the last time. This time, Harry was ready. He and Draco both shot into the air and after the snitch. But like the first round, they both quickly lost track of it and began making slow laps of the pitch in their search.

Suddenly, Harry spotted a glint of gold in the corner of his eye. He turned slowly so as not to catch Draco’s attention. Only to be met with the sight of Draco rather than the expected sight of the snitch. 

Harry blinked in confusion momentarily before realizing what it was he’d seen. It was the sun shining in Draco’s hair as he slowly rotated in place, giving it the appearance of an almost golden glow. And just like that, Harry was transfixed. Something about the way the hair framed his prominent features. Maybe it was the oddly transfixing contrast between the softness of his hair and the sharpness of his features. Or maybe it was just the focus in his expression or the serenity of the aesthetic. Either way, Harry was finding it difficult to look away. For some unknown and totally unrelated reason the thought that he might not be entirely straight chose that moment to cross his mind.

Simultaneously, Draco chose that moment to notice him staring. His first thought, bless him, was that Harry must have seen the snitch behind him, so he whipped around and quickly scanned the area. Seeing nothing, he turned slowly back around to face Harry, eyes narrowed in confusion. There was a long moment in which Draco’s questioning eyes met Harry’s embarrassed ones and Harry’s heart raced.

Thankfully, the moment was broken when Draco really did spot the snitch, somewhere off to his left. Less thankfully, Draco efficiently captured it between his fingers before Harry could even think about trying to stop him.

Harry blinked, having processed these events very slowly. Draco hesitantly looked towards him, still clutching the snitch in his hand. Harry swallowed and glanced towards the ground, looking around for Blaise on autopilot. Only for him to be nowhere to be seen.

Harry looked back up to Draco sharply. Now it was his turn to be confused.

“Where’s Blaise?” He asked, snapping Draco out of his hesitance. Draco touched down next to him, looking quickly around.

“That.. is a good question,” Draco responded. He quickly searched around for the quidditch ball case, efficiently snapping the snitch back into place and putting the case back on the ground. 

“Should we put this back in the locker room and look for him?” Harry asked, gesturing towards the case, still a little awkward.

Draco just looked at Harry for a second and nodded. He headed off in the direction of the locker rooms right away, leaving Harry to catch up, as was beginning to be the norm.

Draco headed into the Slytherin locker room to put the case away once they arrived, but Harry stayed outside, thinking that he heard the sound of voices. One of them was definitely Weasley’s coming from inside the Gryffindor locker room. The other was also coming from the Gryffindor locker room, and it sounded like.. Blaise? Harry blinked in momentary confusion until Draco stepped out of the locker room minutes later, mouth open, no doubt to comment on Harry just stopping without warning, leaving Draco to walk into the locker room without him.

Before he could speak, Harry frantically put a finger up to his mouth, shushing him. Draco glared at him slightly, more pouty than angry, but he didn’t say anything. Wasting no time, he grabbed Draco’s arm and dragged him to the door of the Gryffindor locker room. He put his ear up to the crack of the door, trying to make out any words. After a second, Draco copied him and did the same. 

Draco yanked his head back from the door and stared at Harry in silent shock when he heard who the voices belonged to. Harry looked at him aggressively as if to say ‘I know, I know, now keep listening.’

Draco rolled his eyes, but put his ear back up to the door. It was difficult for them to make out any words, but one thing was for sure. Weasley and Blaise weren’t arguing. They weren’t fighting. They were just... talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you lovely people are enjoying so far! And if you liked it, leave a comment so I can live! If you didn’t like it, please please please leave a comment so I can improve. Thank you all!


End file.
